Garuda Trading

Rare Meteorite Sky Iron Phurba Amulet

A superfine hand crafted bronze phurba with an incredibly rare Siberian meteorite blade. Guaranteed to be crafted from authentic Seymchan iron meteorite, which was first discovered in Siberia in 1967. Each piece is hand crafted by a master artisan who is unsurpassed in the making of ritual phurbas in modern times. It is believed that Tibetans have an ancient tradition of using meteoric iron for ritual Phurbas, however, very few genuine pieces have survived or are known to exist. There is also mention of Guru Rinpoche or Yeshe Tsogyal concealing meteoric phurbas as terma and a number have been re-discovered over the centuries. The immense power of a meteorite when it falls to earth is so destructive and awesome in nature, that it is easy to see why 'sky metal' is the most sought after material for ritual phurbas.

Meteorites are rare and finding them in the Himalayas would have been exceptionally difficult in ancient times. It also requires great skill to work with this material and fashion it into phurba blades. It is likely that the majority of antique iron phurbas that are claimed to be made from 'meteoric' iron (Tibetan: Namchak) are in fact only made from iron of this earth, or are mixed with a very small amount of meteoric iron. Without accurate metallurgical tests it would be difficult to prove otherwise. It is for this reason that genuine meteoric Phurbas with proven provenance are so rare.

Our Phurba blades are crafted from 100% meteorite and they are polished smooth to reveal the Widmanstätten pattern that is inherent in the meteorite. This pattern is found in octahedrite iron meteorites and some pallasites, a class of stony-iron meteorite that were first recorded in 1772 and also came from a find in the mountains of Siberia.

The three sided meteoric blade is held in the mouth of the mythical sea creature known as a Makara and represents the power to transform the "three poisons" or kleshas into wisdom. The three wrathful deity heads at the apex represent the three kayas and inwardly represent the three channels of the body. There is a bronze suspension hoop at the apex to allow the phurba to be strung on a cord or necklace, however, this piece can also be used as a ritual practice support in its own right. A perfect size for when you are on the move.

Please note that these pieces are individually crafted. This means each phurba will have its own unique Widmanstätten pattern, natural inclusions and iridescent hues on the blades. The meteorite may also include flecks of silvery gold coloured iron in the matrix. Any minor pitting seen in the meteorite is inherent in the material and not considered a defect.